NEWS

Katherine Williams-Dunning, 27, daughter of Hank Williams Jr., was killed in a single-vehicle accident on June 13. Country Now reports she was driving a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe and towing a boat southbound on Highway 79 near Paris, Tennessee. At 7:44 p.m., her SUV crossed the median, rolled over on the northbound lanes and stopped on the east shoulder. She died at the scene. Her husband, Tyler Dunning, 29, was airlifted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Katie was the youngest of Hank Jr.’s five children.

NEWS

A second member of my favorite singing group, the Statler Brothers, is gone. Harold Reid, 80, died at home in Staunton, Virginia, on April 24, following a long battle with kidney failure. In 1964, the Statler Brothers (Harold, brother Don Reid, Lew DeWitt, and Phil Balsley) drove to Roanoke to see Johnny Cash in concert. Without having heard them perform, Johnny asked them to open an upcoming show. He then pushed for their record deal with Columbia Records. The first Statler Brothers hit, “Flowers on the Wall,” earned two Grammy Awards. Jimmy Fortune replaced Lou DeWitt in the early 1980s; DeWitt died in 1990. The Statler Brothers Show aired for seven seasons on The Nashville Network (TNN) in the 1990s. The Statler Brothers were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008. (more…)

NEWS

Bakersfield.com reports the death of 67-year-old Mark Yeary, a California native who spent 19 years as pianist and occasional record producer for Merle Haggard and the Strangers. He died January 17 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Arizona City, Arizona. “He played music Thursday night,” his longtime girlfriend said in a phone call. “He seemed chipper and happy.” In 1992, he had decided it was time to leave the Strangers. He moved to Branson, Missouri, and then to Arizona. A stroke in 2008 limited the use of his right hand.

MUSIC FESTIVAL IN FREMONT

Bob Everhart invited me to come to Fremont, Nebraska, to talk about and sell my books at the 44th National Old Time Country & Bluegrass Festival. Bob and his wife, Sheila, who operate the nonprofit National Traditional Country Music Association, moved their festival from its previous location in LeMars, Iowa. The event covered four days (October 3-4-5-6) and three stages, with more performers than I could count.